ProADSL

[Rik]

While we are happy that members discuss the merits of other ISPs, computer companies etc, please be aware that any comments made must respect both forum rules and the law of the land.

Some comments in the recent thread about this company could be construed as libellous, and I have, therefore, deleted the thread.

I should be grateful if members could be careful in their choice of words when making comments on a third-party. If you are unsure what is acceptable comment, please PM me or Adam for clarification.

If any member wants to make contact with ProADSL to discuss the company's website, please PM me for an email address.

Thanks for your co-operation and understanding.

[RobMc]

I feel that it was very poor form for a new ISP to register and post on this forum. A question was asked in the forum and views based on available information were given. It doesn't take a lot of browsing around thinkbroadband and dslzoneuk to get a feel for this ISP.



Rob.

[Rik]

I understand your point of view, Rob.

The ISP felt that his company was being libelled, and believed he needed to speak out. We have had a long discussion, and he understands that I could not allow him to post in this forum. At the same time, in my opinion (and I do not claim to be a lawyer), one of the comments made could have been actionable. To protect the member concerned, and the reputation of the board, I felt it best to remove the thread.

In making a decision of this sort, I consider three things:

1  Could a post lead to legal action against the poster
2  Could a post damage the reputation of this board
3  Could a post, by association, damage the reputation of IDNet.

If the answer to any of these is yes, I am likely to remove either the thread or the post. In this instance, because we also had another ISP posting here, I decided to remove the thread.

In these circumstances, what action to take, if any, is a matter of judgement. In this instance, I was the only staff member around, and I took the action I did for the reasons I have outlined.

[RobMc]

If by "The ISP" you are referring to pro-adsl and that they made a complaint, then I agree with you, that there is little to do other then delete the thread, after all this is not a commercial forum. However the fact that there was a complaint by pro-adsl (or anyone else) was not stated in the reason for deleting the thread. I took this to mean that any potentially libellous comments in any thread would result in deletion of that thread. After all it doesn't take very long at all to find such stuff in the rant and rave section, in fact the very name of that section positively encourages such posts. :/

Rob.

[Rik]

Hi Rob

Yes, ProADSL did contact me to complain about the thread, and having reviewed it I decided that the best course of action was deletion.

In starting this thread, I was asking members to consider their choice of words carefully when referring to any third party. Yesterday's events were the first, in my short tenure, in which a complaint had been received about a post. For this reason, rather than simply remove the thread, I decided to explain why, and to remind members that they could face action if they libel an individual or company.

You rightly observe that some posts in Rant and Rave do sail close the the wind. There are two allowable defences against a libel action in the UK, according to Wiki.

Justification: the defendant proves that the statement was true. If the defense fails, a court may treat any material produced by the defence to substantiate it, and any ensuing media coverage, as factors aggravating the libel and increasing the damages.

Fair Comment: the defendant shows that the statement was a view that a reasonable person could have held, even if they were motivated by dislike or hatred of the plaintiff.

Forum staff are not trained lawyers and cannot be expected to make a judgement on every post. However, where a complaint is received, or where a post is clearly libellous, we will take action if the post (or thread) comes to our attention. As indicated, one of my primary motivations will be to protect the poster from legal action. There is case law precedent established, as you probably know, that it is the poster and not the forum which is responsible for the content of a post.

All that said, no-one wants to see heavy moderation of these boards. I have always believed, and still do, that self-moderation is the best way.